PUNJAB, INDIA, December 24, 2017 (by Haroon Khalid, Wikimedia Commons): With the Supreme Court taking interest in their renovation and protection, the Katas Raj temples, one of the oldest Hindu religious sites in Pakistan, are in the news again. Situated within embrace of the Salt Range near Kallar Kahar, Punjab, this splendid complex of temples dedicated to Ram, Hanuman and Shiva is laid around a natural pond. The pond, the faithful believe, was created from a teardrop of the weeping Shiva as he flew across the sky carrying the dead body of his wife Sati. He shed two tears, one creating this pond, the other falling and making a pond in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The Pandavas came to this place during their exile, the legend goes, and built some of the older temples. Historical records suggest many of the temples, constructed in the Kashmiri architectural tradition, came up in the 11th century CE, when this region, along with parts of Punjab, fell under a Kashmiri kingdom.
After decades of silence, the country’s Hindu heritage became part of the public discourse. In Islamabad, the model village of Saidpur was restored and its Hindu temple and Sikh gurdwara renovated. Several restaurants opened in the village as tourists flooded in. The inside of the temple was painted and its structure strengthened, but an idol was conspicuously missing. For all the talk about enlightened moderation, the country was perhaps still not ready to embrace its Hindu heritage without reservation. The temple was acceptable as long as it was ”muesumized,” keeping it at a certain distance so as not to challenge the agreed upon concepts of national identity. Placing an idol would have brought the temple alive, threatening the notion of exclusive Muslim citizenship. It had taken over 50 years to even talk about renovating Hindu temples, but the renovation was to happen in a context that was still ”otherized” – a reminder of our past but unacceptable in our present. In the past decade, the Pakistani state has found it acceptable to talk about renovating and protecting historical Hindu temples. But is it prepared to let them be places of worship as well?
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BENGALURU, INDIA, December 24, 2017 (Express News Service):: Parveen Sultana and TM Krishna will be among the many maestros conversing with students from over 100 schools, from across the country, at an intensive six-day program to be held in the city from today. At this convention, International School Convention (ISC) of Spic Macay, youngsters will be introduced to Indian arts and crafts through workshops and talks. For the first time, this event will have participation from international students and teachers. Two hundred and fifty artistes will be present as trainers. This residential programme will be held at DPS Bengaluru (north) and 30 acres of space will accommodate students from 20 states. For all six days, the students will wake up at 4 am and practise seven different types of yoga including Koodiyattam, a theatre form of yoga, till 7 am. Thirty types of workshops will be conducted till afternoon where students will be introduced to classical art forms and crafts such as as mask making. Evening concerts will be held every day from 6 pm to 9 pm and these will be open to the public. Overnight public concerts will be held on December 29.
Students will also present their learning on the final day. Sadhana Rao, a Spic Macay advisor, has been a volunteer for 30 years, ever since she joined the program as a student in Miranda House. ”I have always felt there was something missing in the education system. I figured what it was once I joined Spic May. It has been 30 years now,” she says.The first convention was held in 1985 in Hyderabad and Kiran Seth, the founder of Spic Macay, says that there were 50 participants and jokes how the gathering then was divided with the World Cup.
Love is the only reality, and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.
— Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Indian poet and Nobel laureate
